Is there support for the theory that the 1918 influenza resulted from churning up microbe-laden French soil?
Upvote:3
No. But the war certainly helped the spread of the disease.
"Microbes in French soil" will mean bacteria. Those caused a lot of gangrenes and the like but the Spanish Flu is caused by a virus.
A virus is a small infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of other organisms.
While it is still unclear whether it really came from: Kansas, other US troop camps, via Chinese labourers or just circulated in more limited numbers in Britain and France years before: it is not the soil but the living (in this case also: and dying) conditions of the people in close contact that facilitated the spread. That is not to say that the conditions increased the lethality among the soldiers, as H1N1 was quite unique in killing way more people in good health before infection than those really stressed, like in the trenches.
But in any case: you do not catch the flu from any soil so much as from other people or animals. And "mixing up the soil" causing this disease sounds more like eco-esotericism than science; or it may be an easy to miscomprehend metaphor for this kind of war in general. The first quote from this book by MacMillan is simply incorrect speculation without base.
The medical article quoted in the question is then actually a case of faulty reading, as it lends absolutely no support to the original hypothesis:
Many factors contributed to it, such as: the mixing on French soil of soldiers and workers from the five continents, the very poor quality of life of the soldiers, agglomeration, stress, fear, war gasses used for the first time in history in a massive and indiscriminate manner, life exposed to the elements, cold weather, humidity and contact with birds, pigs and other animals, both wild and domestic.
Anton Erkoreka: "Origins of the Spanish Influenza pandemic (1918–1920) and its relation to the First World War", J Mol Genet Med. 2009 Dec; 3(2): 190–194.
"The coming together of many people on Gallic lands" may sound a bit pompous, but perhaps may also clear up the misunderstanding?
Upvote:8
This attempt at an explanation completely ignores the very high probability that the 1919 influenza strain was related to the 1889-90 Russian flu, as evidenced by its extremely unusual mortality pattern.
Without an explanation of this relatedness (to the earlier pandemic), I find it impossible to take this explanation seriously.
Update - correction:
The 1918-20 influenza has been confirmed by DNA analysis to be an H1N1 strain (swine flu). The best (circumstantial) evidence to date is that the 1888-1889 epidemic was an H3N8 strain, but this cannot be determined with certainty.
The unusual mortality pattern for the 1918-20 epidemic is apparently due to a cytokinetic storm in which the body's own immune system is enlisted in a positive feedback loop, resulting in young adults being most susceptible, rather than least susceptible, to mortality.
Although it is confirmed that influenza virus can survive for extended periods of time in frozen lakes, there is no evidence at this time that it can survive in soil that regularly thaws. It seems much more likely that the unsanitary conditions of warfare in the trenches, combined with the very large wards common at the time, created ideal conditions for the rapidly mutating Influenza A virus to morph into a fatal and extremely contagious strain. (The two traits are more commonly traded off against each other, except in conditions which keep infected and uninfected individuals in close contact for extended periods of time.)
More post
- 📝 Was the British Empire financially capable of maintaining India as a colony after WW2?
- 📝 Was the "anti-suffragist Beresford Hope" related to Alexander Beresford Hope?
- 📝 In 18th century America, how did people board ships to travel long distance?
- 📝 How historically accurate is "Life is Beautiful" when it comes to Jewish extermination?
- 📝 Why didn't the senate of Carthage reinforce Hannibal in Italy?
- 📝 How did life change for the average American as a result of the end of World War 1?
- 📝 Why could Phoenicians sail past Cape Bojador but later Europeans could not until 1434?
- 📝 Can we classify holocaust as Hitler's war time strategic mistake?
- 📝 When did civilians in Europe gain access to breech-loaded firearms?
- 📝 When was Donald Trump's first visit to his mother's birthplace, the Isle of Lewis?
- 📝 Who was the VP during these Civil Rights milestones?
- 📝 Was it possible to "aim for the epaulette boys" during the Middle Ages?
- 📝 Why didn't the Soviets keep their encircled forces supplied by airlifting supplies?
- 📝 Did Andrew Jackson think the earth was flat?
- 📝 Why was the date moved by 10 days instead of 9 during Gregorian calendar reform?
- 📝 Are there any records that indicate a submarine vs submarine battle?
- 📝 What is meaning of 4 letter abbreviations in Roman names like Titus Flavius T. f. T. n. Sabinus?
- 📝 Why did the Allies lose the Battle of France (1940)?
- 📝 How did the Catholic Pope manage to become more powerful than Kings in old Europe?
- 📝 What percentage of NAACP in the 1910s was Jewish?
- 📝 Dictators who came back through elections?
- 📝 How was money transferred before digital transactions?
- 📝 WWII documentary series with end credits that used a diorama
- 📝 What was up with "Alicorn" in the 1920's and 30's
- 📝 Did Henry VIII have his bedroom bricked up every night?
- 📝 Are the Sabean people of Cushitic or Ethiopian origin?
- 📝 Is there evidence to suggest that the strike of the Matchwomen in 1888 gave rise to the modern union movement?
- 📝 How was 'the right to bear arms' understood in 17th-18th century England?
- 📝 Was "Mad Anthony" Wayne of the Continental Army really that cruel like shown in this video?
- 📝 Did Charlemagne save Latin literature?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Is there support for the theory that the 1918 influenza resulted from churning up microbe-laden French soil?
- 📝 Is there any evidence to support the claim that the United States was "suckered into WW1" by Zionists, made by Benjamin Freedman in his 1961 speech?
- 📝 Is there any evidence to support the claim that the US Strategic Defense Initiative played any significant role in undermining the USSR?
- 📝 Is there a historical source that might explain why so many countries use 35 as a minimum age for the president / the highest office person?
- 📝 Is There A Term For The Old Maps That Had Lines Connecting Pin-Wheels?
- 📝 Were there reasons for Japan to go to war with the US aside from the US owning Philippines?
- 📝 Are there any historians who believe that the crusades were not motivated as a distraction from internal conflicts?
- 📝 In the United States government, has there been cases that electoral colleges don't vote for the candidate the majority of their state voted for?
- 📝 Are there any historical sources that support the claim that ancient high-speed archers held multiple arrows in their hand?
- 📝 Is there evidence that working for the Pony Express was dangerous, or not dangerous?
- 📝 Is there any science behind this graph that suggests we'd be exploring new galaxies if not for the dark ages?
- 📝 Were sailing ships of the line understaffed with gunnery crews so that there were not enough for 2 broadsides?
- 📝 What evidence is there that English Political divisions from the 1600s are replicated in American politics today?
- 📝 What evidence support the theory that the killing of unwanted children was practiced in ancient Athens?
- 📝 Was there Western tactical air support during the Battle for Berlin?
- 📝 Is there evidence that scrubbing floors on one's hands and knees was a commonplace drudgery for women in the past?
- 📝 Is there any support within the scholarly community for Cyrus Gordon's "Common Background of Greek and Hebrew Civilizations"?
- 📝 Why did the Australian IOC deny that Peter Norman was excluded from the 1972 Olympics for supporting racial equality?
- 📝 Was there ever support for any persons outside of the empire to be elected Holy Roman Emperor?
- 📝 Is there any evidence to support the claim that Richard Burton told John Speke he would return home via Jerusalem after their Nile Quest?
- 📝 What proportion of the Arab population of Palestine pre-1948 came from families that lived there before 1880?
- 📝 Is there evidence that Harald Bluetooth died from an arrow to the rear?
- 📝 Is there a word for this aesthetic from the late 80s and early 90s?
- 📝 What primary sources are there for Charles I's seizure of gold from the Tower mint?
- 📝 What evidence is there that Bell stole the telephone design from Gray?
- 📝 Was there any official affirmation from the US government that they would win the Vietnam War?
- 📝 Did Turkey invade Cyprus to keep the USSR out? Is there really CIA files that prove this for real?
- 📝 Was there a stated reason for the evacuation of Israeli settlers from the Gaza strip?
- 📝 Is there a factual basis for the character of Morgan le Faye from the King Arthur tale?
- 📝 Is there any valid basis for this claim that German Emperor Wilhelm II and the Hohenzollern family had Jewish blood?